Cod is not dead in Canada

Cod are coming back to Atlantic Canada. Slowly, here and there, but the signs are positive.

That's good news after the catastrophic collapse of the Newfoundland cod fishery two decades ago. Since then, we've learned a lot about the effects of overfishing on ocean ecosystems, and the mysterious non-recovery once fishing was stopped.

One problem has been that fishing wasn't actually stopped, and remaining low-level fisheries inhibited recovery.

One worrisome sign is that the fish are smaller than they used to be, what's up with that? Is it a blip that will go away, or a changed system?

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Extreme seafood

Ocean foraging taken to the limit.



Hat tip: Deep Blue Home

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Millions of endangered sockeye crowd into Fraser River

Huh? Wait a minute, this doesn't make sense.

Just when we were ready to close the book on Fraser River sockeye salmon. Just when the judicial inquiry into their disappearance is getting underway. The darn fish won't stop coming home to spawn. It's as if they want to monkey-wrench people's minds just to be contrary.

First we expected 10 million to come home this year...then 14 million...then 20 million...then 25 million...then 30 million. Now it's up to 34 million sockeye salmon and rising. Could it go higher? Check here for more news, and see if the numbers can go even higher!

The world of sockeye salmon and the Fraser River looks very different today than it did just two months ago.

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Supermarket empties shelves for conservation

I never thought I'd see this day...a supermarket is showing customers empty seafood shelves to demonstrate the plight of the oceans.

See the photo at top left, showing an empty tray where Loblaw used to offer skates to customers, and now they offer a message about the need to find sustainable fish to sell.

Loblaw in Canada is emptying part of their seafood trays where they used to sell fish that are in trouble. The effort is designed to send a visual message to consumers that unless conservation happens, we'll lose our ocean fish.

Most sustainability messaging on seafood is designed to be consumer-friendly, here's an example of a store taking a risk of making customers uncomfortabl, not usually a winning idea in retail.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out.

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Good news about blue whales

Big blues again in the big blue--blue whales are once again being seen off the coast of British Columbia. Seeing a blue whale is a special treat, and a return to former haunts is enough to gladden the heart of an ocean lover.

There is scientific caution about this good news, let's not leap too quickly to assume it's a sign of a population boom. It may be whales migrating from other areas that are now seen off BC.

Our US whale biologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have a lot to say on the subject, and there does seem to be scientific evidence that blue whales ARE doing better in the Pacific Ocean.

Worldwide, blue whales are still depleted from historic highs, especially in the southern hemisphere and the Atlantic. But our Pacific populations are doing fairly well and I'm going to take the BC sightings as reason for optimism.

It's a good day for an ocean lover, and welcome back big blue.

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New ocean game

It's called Coastal Fling, and it lets you fling things. That's always good.

What do you fling, where, and why? You get to fling people, animals, not sure what all, into a place you've never heard of called Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (hint: it's in a place you have heard of, called Canada, see map at right). The purpose is to show you some of the places in PNCIMA. Learn about "PNCIMA" and have fun.

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Canada beats US in fighting fish fraud

Responding quickly to the blogfish expose from a few hours ago (wink), Canadian government authorities today announced action to combat seafood fraud in a letter to seafood importers.

Showing productive leadership, a US-based seafood industry group praised the Canadian action and questioned a lack of action by the US government.

“We’re pleased to see CFIA taking such a thorough and proactive approach on the net weight issue,” said Lisa Weddig, Secretary of the Better Seafood Bureau. “At the same time we’re disappointed that our own Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has failed to recognize the importance of this issue and devote needed resources to it.”

Who is the Better Seafood Bureau? A seafood industry group dedicated to tackling the problem of fish fraud, in order to build consumer trust in seafood.

Way to go, guys. Now if we can only get the US government moving.

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Red lists of seafood to avoid

Is a list of seafood to avoid a good way to save our oceans? Here's a quote from a Canadian who is working to protect fish and save our oceans, who has a sharp opinion on the question of do-not-eat lists:

“The do-not-eat lists are important, because they get people to think about what they are doing and what their actions result in. The hope would be that they result in meaningful moderation, but I think they are such small private statements that they will not work fast enough to stop the over-fishing of several species.”

Her name is Julie Pithers and here's a what Fast Forward Weekly has to say about her: Pithers played an active role in having shark fin soup removed from all Loblaws stores, the company that owns Superstore. A protest was set to be held at a Calgary Superstore against the grocery chain’s sale of shark fin, but just days prior, the Loblaws company distributed letters to protest organizers and other concerned patrons announcing the decision to remove the product from its stores.

Seems like she knows how to help save fish.

What do you think? What's the best way to make more seafood sustainable?

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The decline of pink (salmon)

Pinks are the poor relations of the salmon world, although they shouldn't be. They lack the superstar appeal of king (chinook) salmon and they're not even in the second tier with sockeye and coho. And pinks are small. Along with chum, pinks are just plain fish.

They're not bad fish at all, I love a good canned pink salmon. And in biological terms, there's no reason to not think pink when thinking about salmon. Pink salmon are important ecologically, so they might be the superstar salmon for an animal like, say, a killer whale.

So even though you've barely heard of pink salmon, there's reason to feel bad about the recently reported decline of pink salmon off British Columbia. In particular, pinks are in big trouble near salmon farms.

The scientist responsible for uncovering this problem was recently profiled in the New York Times, and featured on the Island of Doubt blog for her achievement in science without benefit of the typical pedigree, gasp she doesn't have a Ph.D.! How dare she wade in these waters without a license???!!

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